Actors, lawmakers look to ‘change the tune’ of Texas’ film incentive structure

The scene opens with an overhead shot of a car driving through a classic Texas Hill Country landscape. Actor and Austinite Matthew McConaughey gazes wistfully out the window, riding passenger to Woody Harrelson.

“Hollywood is a flat circle, Wood,” McConaughey says. 

“So what, you want to turn the record off?” says Harrelson, a fellow Texas native. 

“No,” McConaughey responds. “I want to change the tune.” 

While the pair definitely channel one of their most famous roles together, this dialogue isn’t from a new season of “True Detective.” It comes from an ad created by Texas actors and filmmakers. This legislative session, they’re urging state lawmakers to incentivize filming in Texas. 

Also featured in the ad are other Texas luminaries of the small and large screen, like Billy Bob Thornton, Renée Zellweger and Dennis Quaid. 

Like McConaughey himself did earlier this week, Quaid has also testified before lawmakers in favor of state-backed film incentive programs.

“I’d love to be able to work here, live here and see crew members who are able to do the same,” Quiad said to members of the Texas Senate Finance Committee last fall. “And really create something big here because that’s what Texas is — it’s big.”

This legislative session, it looks like lawmakers are listening. 

Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) has filed Senate Bill 22 which would push $500 million into the state’s film incentive fund every two years until 2035. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has named the bill among his top priorities for lawmakers this session. 

The trouble with filming in Texas

Right now, many movies set in Texas aren’t actually filmed here. They’re instead filmed in neighboring states because of the generous tax rebates they offer. 

For instance, in Louisiana, productions can get up to a 40% tax credit which can be applied to “qualified in-state production expenditures, including resident and non-resident labor.” Texas’ credit only goes up to around 20%.

This economic reality isn’t just influencing where things are filmed — it’s changing whole plots. Take Richard Linklater’s recent comedy “Hitman.” The director, who was born and raised in Houston, told the Friends on Film podcast that the movie was supposed to be set in his hometown. 

“And it was written that way,” said Linklater of the original script. “I spent a lot of the film kind of explaining — in a funny way — kind of explaining how this could happen in Houston.”

But without the backing of a major studio, filming in Texas just didn’t make sense.

“Incentive programs really do play a part. If it’s, like, $1.5 million more on a low budget, that means a lot,” Linklater said. “So the producer who is putting it all together is like ‘Dude, do you want to make this movie or not?’”

He did. So Linklater decided to pivot. He rewrote the script so that the story took place in New Orleans and filmed the movie there. 

But the director’s general desire to keep productions in Texas is shared by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake), who thinks Texas stories should be told in Texas.

“Here’s an opportunity for us as a state to say, rather than have Hollywood doing all of the stuff and pushing their agendas and their ideas, let’s go and get those same movie stars and actors to come here to Texas and do it in a Texas way,” he told The Texas Newsroom.

Capriglione has filed a bill that would provide reimbursements for filming in Texas and even create virtual film production institutes at Texas A&M and Texas State University. 

Johnny McAllister heads the film program at Texas State University. He said he’s surveyed his own students on where they hope to work post-graduation.

“Upwards of 90% of students have no plans and no real desire to move to Los Angeles or even Atlanta or anywhere else,” he said. “They want to build their career here and make films in Texas.”

McAllister said instituting programs like what Sen. Huffman and Rep. Capriglione are proposing would mean his students could make those dreams possible. 

Which could all mean good things for Texas’ industry and economy. The Texas Film Commission, a division of the governor’s office, reports that their incentive program has brought in $2.5 billion in state spending since 2007. The commission regularly states that Texas gets a return of $4.69 on every dollar it grants. 

Of course, there isn’t universal agreement that incentives and tax credits are a cure-all. Experts from the National Bureau of Economic Research have said incentive programs have little impact on employment or surrounding industries.

Nonetheless, cinephiles and advocates alike are gunning for state support this legislative session. 

Fred Poston is the executive director for the Texas Media Production Alliance, which advocates for Texans in the film industry. He said he’s seen up close the good the film industry has had on the state. 

“It’s not just an Austin, Dallas, Houston, (or) Fort Worth thing,” he said. “This is something that is across Texas.”

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